Construction of buildings generally requires expertise in the on-site assembly of the load-bearing structure, or frame, of the building. Combinations of vertical pilasters and horizontal roof trusses generally form this frame for receiving wall and roof coverings.
A wide range exists in the designs, dimensions and load bearing requirements for building frames. These differences occur from building design to building design and also for particular structural members within one building design. In addition, structural members, such as a horizontal roof trusses, tend to be too large in many instances to be transported to the building site preassembled. Consequently, it is generally not practical to have pre-assembled structural members for building frames, especially not of standardized construction and design.
Similarly, placement of utilities, like electrical power, lighting, water, and wiring for telecommunication and entertainment systems, also vary greatly. Consequently, additional expertise is required for electricians and plumbers to incorporate these utilities into the building structure at an appropriate phase in the construction.
By contrast, portable structures such as camping tents and special occasion pavilions use sets of shelter supports that are readily erected by individuals having minimal expertise in building construction. Generally, easily assembled portable tents are limited to small dimensions as well as being limited in their load-bearing capacity. Furthermore, these portable structures lack provisions for utilities such as electrical wiring, relying instead upon portable powered devices.
Between the extremes of large permanent buildings and small, portable structures, there are a number of types of shelters. Examples of shelters includes enclosed residential porches, attached greenhouses, gazebos, and picnic shelters. Conventional shelters suffer from a number of disadvantages if assembled in a fashion similar to permanent buildings or portable structures.
The relatively complex assembly of structural supports for large permanent buildings requires carpentry, concrete, architectural and related expertise as well as a significant number of specialized tools and building materials of various dimensions. Often, these shelters are desired by home owners and businesses who lack these requisite tools and expertise. Moreover, the relatively small size of such projects makes them economically unattractive to builders. Consequently, the home owners and businesses may have to pay a relatively high price to have a shelter assembled.
Often, it would be desirable to have the ease, convenience and expedience of assembly and disassembly of portable tents. However, shelters often require greater structural integrity to withstand weather extremes or to be of larger dimensions than conventional tents. Furthermore, shelters, such as gazebos, often benefit from the aesthetics of a more permanent appearance.
Consequently, a significant need exists for a shelter that lends itself to be readily assembled and disassembled with a minimum of expertise and tools, yet provides sufficient structural integrity, utility and aesthetics for long-term and/or varied use.